Salmon is just one of those foods that’s so versatile – I could eat it practically every day of the week if you let me! This baked cajun salmon is such a great recipe as it packs in a load of flavour, without the need to add much fat or oil to the cooking process. Healthy, delicious and packed full of heart-healthy fish oils. What more could you want from a recipe!
How do you make Baked Cajun Salmon?
This recipe cooks the salmon in the oven. Lightly oil and season the salmon with the cajun seasoning and then transfer to a baking tray and place in a pre-heated oven. It takes around 20 minutes to cook a standard sized salmon fillet.
Traditionally this is cooked on the hob in a skillet or frying pan. The seasoning doesn’t blacken up quite as much as it does if you pan-fry it, but it’s a fair trade-off for the reduction in calories. Plus baking is a little bit easier – you can throw it in the oven and forget about it while you get on with making your side dishes!
What can you serve with it?
Cajun salmon goes well with so many things. You are spoilt for choice! Some freshly steamed rice and vegetables is a great choice. As is a crisp green salad. I choose to eat this particular one with this roasted Mediterranean vegetable recipe and some fruity and fresh mango salsa to top it off. Yum!
How many calories are in it?
This recipe has just 295 calories. You could also use a low-calorie cooking spray instead of olive oil which would reduce the count a little further. It also depends on the size of the salmon fillet you use. I’ve suggested below a plump 150g fillet, but you could use a smaller piece if you are calorie counting.
What seasoning does it use?
The cajun seasoning in the recipe includes some hot cayenne and paprika mixed with some flavoursome oregano and thyme. You can also use store/supermarket-bought ready-made seasoning if you want to simplify things.
Personally I have so many spices that I find buying ready-made blends a bit of a waste – since I always struggle to use everything I have by the expiry date anyway!
If you are looking for more great salmon recipes then check out this Italian Salsa Verde Salmon or these Baked Salmon & Fennel Foil Packets.
Products that work great for this recipe
Small Glass Airtight Jars
Beeswax Food Wraps
Anthropologie Julianna Dinner Plate Set
Baked Cajun Salmon
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 1 1x
Description
This baked cajun salmon recipe is delicious and minimises the amount of oil needed when cooking by baking instead of pan-frying. It takes only minutes to prepare and is a perfect mid-week meal after a long, busy day.
The default recipe serves one portion
Ingredients
- 1 medium, skinless salmon fillet (around 150 g)
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp cajun seasoning – store-bought or using the below ingredients:
Homemade Cajun Seasoning:
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1/2 tsp oregano
If you like the look of the salsa in the pictures then you can find the recipe here.
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 200C / 400F
2. Brush the salmon with half the oil and scatter half the cajun seasoning. Flip and repeat on the other side.
3. Bake the salmon for 20 – 25 minutes, turning halfway through
4. Serve with a crisp salad, steamed veg and some rice or potatoes – yum!
Notes
- While this is a baked salmon recipe, you can also pan fry it. Use a further tsp of oil in a non-stick pan over medium-high heat. It should take around 8-10 minutes for a standard thickness fillet.
- Recreate the look: I used this Mediterranean veg recipe and this mango salsa recipe to serve this with. I also added a slice of lime and some parsley, red mustard cress and broccoli cress to garnish.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Cajun
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 295
- Fat: 16g
- Carbohydrates: 3g
- Protein: 33g
Keywords: cajun, salmon, fish, dinner, easy, healthy
We quadrupled (or octupled?) this recipe for an extended family meal. We were a little short on salmon though, so pounded a few boneless, skinless chicken breasts and used the same Cajun seasoning rub on both (albeit with a little cayenne pepper). It really worked well and made our low-quality salmon and chicken breasts super tasty. We also made the suggested Feed-Your-Sole mango salsa and that was a big hit, too. Just the right cool and sweet contrast.
★★★★★